One month down...

So I have been in Korea for exactly a month now and the time has definitely flown by but also seems like it has been longer if that makes any sense. Everything is going well and I continue to meet new people everyday. This coming week should be a lot of fun as it is the Chuseok holiday here which is kind of a mix between Thanksgiving and the Day of the Dead in Hispanic countries. It is a 3 day event where you give thanks and also pay respect to your ancestors. However, since most of the Westerners do not have tombs to go to our family gatherings we are enjoying our time off. Some people get the entire week off but I have to go to school on Monday and teach but get the rest of the week off so I can't complain too much. I will be going to Deok Jeok island with a large group of English teachers, most of which I have not met. I will probably be going on a hike that is supposed to be pretty sweet and then there will be a lot of lounging on the beach, maybe some sand volleyball and a bonfire. I am looking forward as this will be my first real trip anywhere besides Seoul and Incheon.

I continue to get a hang of teaching the middle school boys and am trying to figure out the best way to get through to them. Hopefully as time goes on they will get more comfortable with me and participate more in class. There are more students that come into my classroom in between classes so I guess some of them are warming up to me. After the holidays we have a week of classes and then they have their midterm exam which I get to contribute 5 questions to so I guess it is good that my class does have some relevance as I don't give them an actual grade.

This past weekend was pretty fun, Friday we had a dinner for my school and it was nice to try and meet some of my co workers outside of school. I still cannot communicate with the majority of them but hopefully I will be able to pick up some conversational Korean soon and be able to talk with them a little bit. After the dinner went out with a few friends and also talked to some Korean people and there is a chance a couple of them might help me learn some Korean so that is a bonus. Saturday night we went up to Seoul and saw one of my old customers band play and even though I am not a big metal/hard rock fan they were pretty good. We grabbed dinner and drinks with them after the show which was fun. We also stopped in Itaewon for a little bit which is the big "English" area in Seoul. Basically a lot of military and foreigners gather here and go out. It was the first Quiznos and Taco Bell that I have seen here and maybe the only ones in the country. We weren't there very long but definitely was interesting.

Alright that is it for now, but I should have more to say after I get back from the Island on Thursday!